Pertamina to push ahead with Iraq venture

Pertamina to push ahead with Iraq venture

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta

State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina hopes it will be
able to proceed smoothly with its oil project in Iraq following
the capture of former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein.

"The project, hopefully, will be able to proceed smoothly in a
better security environment," Pertamina's spokesman Ridwan Nyak
Baik told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Pertamina has started oil exploration in Block III in the
Western Desert, which is in the west of Iraq bordering on Saudi
Arabia. It is to invest some US$24 million in the block over the
first three years and another $16 million in the following two
years. The block has an estimated 3 million barrels of oil.

Pertamina put its project in Iraq on hold when the U.S.-led
coalition attacked Iraq in March.

Iraqi oil official Abdel Saheb Qotbi said the capture of
former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein by the U.S. on Sunday lead
to fewer attacks on the country's oil industry.

The country's oil ministry said there had been 80 acts of
sabotage on oil and gas pipelines since Saddam's regime was
toppled in April.

Ridwan said if everything goes according to plan, the company
would start conducting a seismic survey to determine potential
reserves in 2004.

He said if everything went well, Pertamina would be able to
start production within seven years.

The company expects the new Iraqi government to respect the
contract awarded to Pertamina.

"This is a business-to-business contract, and whatever the
situation (in Iraq) the government there should respect it,"
Ridwan said.

Pertamina was concerned that the new government might suspend
the contract, which was awarded by Saddam last year, after
contracts with Russia and China were reportedly put on hold.

However, the Iraqi government gave the company the go-ahead to
restart the project in November of this year.